Long summer days, and warm nights filled with fun, swimming, boating, and Uncle Mike's weekend barbeque bashes is what summer is all about. Of course it helps when the family has owned a large cottage with a hundred feet of frontage on a large New England pond for generations. It's even better when the extended family joins in on the weekend. That is how it has always been for Jay, or at least as long as he can remember. Just a week after school gets out in June, the family packs up and head right here, three hours away from home and stays until the dawn of September.
Jay has his regular summer stomping ground here that has expanded over the years as he has grown. From being handheld at the water's edge, to walking the dirt private road to find butterflies, to running into town on a Friday night for some fun and young ladies, the horizons have expanded. Jay has held a summer job here in a waterfront bait and gas station for the past two years. Even though this story takes place during his eighteenth summer here and he is heading off to college in the fall, he still had plans to be shelling out the worms the following years in between college terms. It seemed safe to say he has always loved this little waterfront vacation escape.
That day when he had been daydreaming had been a fine Saturday, filled with the usual swimming, eats, and carloads of relatives. Even the longtime summer neighbors joined in from other pond side cabins. The only drawback of it all was the next door neighbor Julie. Although she had been friends with Jay's sister for what seemed like forever, she had been picking on him since he was too small to pull his own swim trunks up. As the family had arrived here a few weeks ago he wondered if she would be back again with the folks this year. He had thought maybe not since she was twenty two now and had graduated college a few weeks ago. He had been hoping she had her own life now and additionally would not be ripping on some other guy every few minutes.
Two weeks had passed and he has not seen her. He also has not asked anyone. Now on Independence Day weekend there had been no sign of her at the large pond-side annual shindig. But just when he thought he would be safe from this year's roll of the wet towel smack from behind, he heard a familiar voice.
"Hey turd," Julie said a second before he heard the snap.
"Dammit!" he exclaimed as he winced.
"Hey little guy," she smiled as he turned.
"I haven't been a little guy for years," Jay said.
"Oh yeah, did you fill out you're selective service card or did you need help with the big words?" she asked.
"Yeah shut up," Jay sighed as he rubbed his backside, "You know that hurts."
"Oh sorry little guy, next time I'll just goose that cute butt, like this," she smiled as she pinched him and walked away.
Also there was that too. She had always been a terrible flirting tease. Jay knew she never had any intention of making good on all the comments she gave him. Some had been mild, and others were as graphic and suggestive as they come. She had even played a joke on him once telling him she wanted him, and then didn't show up. He had swam all the way out to the floating platform in the dark one night only to find a sarcastic note. Of course she had a good laugh.
Jay had always been attracted to shorter girls. Perhaps this is why he had put up with Julie so long. She stands over six inches shorter than him. He had sometimes remarked inwardly about her attractiveness. Her shoulder length auburn tinted hair has always been well kept. It was that and the fact that she is not voluptuous that had given him a physical attraction. He has always preferred, as his best friend Jim had once put it, just a handful.
Jay decided to wander onto the front deck to grab one of his uncle's famous burgers and a drink. He started thinking that there had to be a better way to make it through the summer than to keep putting up with the usual assault from Julie. As he thought about it, he looked out at the large busy pond. Boats sped by trailed by water skiers. The beachfronts full of kids and adults alike seemed like such a symbol of summer. Of course the tasty burgers helped too.
Jay focused his view away from the panorama and he looked out onto the busy swimming platform. He remembered hearing the story of how and why it was made. His grandfather and his two brothers made it one summer, long before he was born. His grandfather came up with the idea in order to teach his sons how to swim. They would regularly do laps between the shore and the platform.
The large 10 feet square wooden structure had seen a lot of fun, and other sorted things over the decades according to his dad. He remembered helping to repair it a few summers ago and made the offhand comment to his dad about just replacing it. His dad simply looked at him and told him there was too much history with that old heavy thing.
For three decades it has been pushed out into the same position about 20 feet beyond the dock, and to the left in front of the small beach. The weights on rope are pulled off the top and sunk in the water to keep it in position. Each fall they retrieve it before winter and carry it up onto the lawn to sit until the next spring. Jay started to wonder in all its history, how many people had used it. Then remembering what his dad had said about other sorted things.
"Hey, have you seen Julie?" Jay's sister, Sandy said as she came up beside him.
"Unfortunately," Jay said to her.
"Oh don't tell me she's at it again," Sandy said, "We had a long talk last night. It was one of those really deep meaning of life kind of things out on the platform last night."
"Most likely plotting this summer's punishments on the lowly neighbor guy," Jay grinned.
"Actually, we talked about that," Sandy said, sipping her soda, "She's feeling bad about all that in her old age."
"Old age starts at 22?" Jay asked, "As for feeling bad, it's seems like that's not true. Since you're the same age, is it true?
"Ah, did she start in again?" Sandy asked, "And no it doesn't."
"Yeah," he sighed, "But there was the pinch on my ass. She's never touched me at all before."
"Oh she did it," Sandy said with a strange expression, "Thought she was kidding about all that."
"All what?" Jay asked.
"Well," Sandy said, "Just girl talk."
"I really hate that," Jay said.
"Obviously," she smiled.
"Oh don't fight," Julie said as she again pinched Jay from behind, "It wastes too much energy."
"Must you do that?" Jay asked as he turned quickly.
"Oh I have a reason for everything little guy," Julie grinned as she grabbed the other half of his burger and walked off.
"This is unreal," Jay said as he shook his head.
"Yeah I can't believe it either," Sandy said.
"There is something you're not telling me," Jay said.
"You're right," Sandy said as she also walked off without saying anything more.
Confused and annoyed, Jay walked over for another burger to replace the one that Julie had taken, then quickly went back down to the lawn to find a place to sit. When he found his place, he began looking around thinking that she might try it again, but he could not see her anywhere. Suddenly however he did see a familiar face walking toward him.
"Hey man, glad you could make it," Jay said to his long time friend.
"Yeah, the boss, or Dad as I call him gave me the day off, so I thought I'd cruise on up." Jim said.
"Grab some food," Jay said to him.
"Yeah maybe later," Jim said as he grabbed a soda, "Let's catch up man."
Jay and his friend sat on the lounge chairs on the side lawn and started talking. Even though they were nearly the same average build and height and have even been mistaken for brothers a few times, they had somewhat different personalities. Though they last saw each other a few weeks ago, they still talked about recent events. Of course it became quite easy to slip into some nostalgia about all the fun and trouble they use to get into. It quickly became a conversation not meant for mixed company. The subject matter would prompt them to stop as Julie and Sandy came over to say hello.
"Hey little guy," Julie said enthusiastically then changed her tone to a dry simple acknowledgement when she saw Jim, "Jim."
"Little guy," Jim mocked, "Does she know something we don't?"
"Probably bigger than yours," Julie shot back.
"Ah geez," Jay said nervously, "Wait, what?"
"I have no idea but it works for me," Sandy said as she sat down on Jim's lap.
"You're, you, you two," Jay stuttered then faced his friend with mild shock, "Your dating my sister?"
